Combined signaling and telephonic intercommunicating system for railroads.



No. 744,655 I PATENTED NOV. 17, 190a.

J. A. WHYTE & G. c. EDWARDS.

COMBINED SIGNALING AND TELEPHONIG IN' I'ERCOMMUNIGATING.SYSTEM P011 RAILROADS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 24, 1903.

I no MODEL.

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WWIM i\44 J m: NORRIS PETERS co Pno'ruumm WASHINGTON, u cv UNITE STATES Patented November 17, 1903.

PATE T OFFICE.

' JOHN ALEXANDER WHYTE AND GORDON CAMERON EDWARDS, TORONTO, CANADA.

COMBINED SIGNALING AND IELEPHONIC INIERCOMMUNICA TING SYSTEM FOR RAILROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,655, dated November 17, 1903.

' Application filed January 24, 1903. Serial No. 140,365. (No model.) 7

To dZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN ALEXANDER WHYTE, assistant inspector, and. GORDON CAMERON EDWARDS, gentleman, both sub-.

tercommunicating System for Railroads, of .which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in combined signaling and telephonic intercommunicating systems for railroads; and the objects of our invention are, first, to prevent collisions on railroads; secondly, to enable the engineer and station agent tocommunicate with each other when necessary, and, thirdly,

to situate the means used for completing the circuit between the engineers cab and the circuit above the road-bed; and it consists, es-

sentially, of a main circuit to which are connected a series of shunt-circuits, a telephone, an annunciator, and a switchboard situated in the station and connected to said circuits,

and a combined signaling and telephone instrument and switch placed in the engineers cab, and means above the road-bedfor com-. pleting the circuit between the telephone, an-

nunciator, and switchboard in the station, and said combined signaling and telephone instrument and switch in the 'engineers cab,

and said main circuitand said shunt-circuits, as hereinafter more particularly explained.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of our invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing suitable means for establishing the circuit between the locomotive and the station. Fig. 3 is a View showing a combined signaling and telephone instrument for the engineers cab.

In the drawingslike characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

circuits D are carried in the usual manner on the poles F. Connected with the switchboards B are any suitable telephones G, situated in the station. I

Suitably secured to, preferably, the locomotive-cab is a support H, to which is secured a contact-arm I, which when the cab is going bined signaling and telephone instrument N.

In order to economize inoperating expenses, we do not keep the current on in any of the circuits. In case the operator at station A should wish to stop the train B he would have to insert the plugs a and b in the usual switchboard B This operation establishes the current from the station into the main circuit C and the shunt-circuit D, as indicated by arrow, and it will be understood that immedi-' ately the contact-arm I comes in contact with the contact-strip J the current flows in the direction indicated by arrow in Fig. 2 through the wires and instrument therein shown and is grounded, and thus completed; Simultaneously the. contact-arm I comes in contact with the contact-strip J thecoils 2 are magnetized, thus drawing the armature 3, secured to the arm 0, suitably pivoted at 4 to an arm 5, down in the direction indicated by arrow. This operation moves the links 6 and 7 upwardly in the direction indicated by arrow, thus depressing therod 8 and opening any suitable valve 9, connected to a suitable whistle 10, thus causing said whistle to blow. 11 is any suitable pipe connection connecting the whistle with the source of steam-supply. The link 7 is suitably pivoted at 12. When the whistle blows, the engineer of course knows that he has been signaled and will stop his train and communicate with the station. Thespeed of the train will of course carry same beyond the contact-strip J. The engineer will be instructed to make connection may stop same by shoving the arm 13 upward in the direction indicated byarrow, thus moving the armature 3 out of contact with the magnets 2. This movement raises up the rod 8 and cuts off the steam-supply. The rod 13 of course falls back into normal position of its own weight. The switch 14 of the engineers instrument must of course be in contact with the signaling contact-strip 15 when he is not telephoning. In order to find out why he has been signaled to stop, the engineer moves the switch 14 into contact with the telephone contact-strip 16 and operates his bell, so as to notify the operator that he is in communication with him. This operation will drop the indicator-number 3 at station A and notify the operator there that the engineer is in communication with him. As soon as the operator and engineer are through talking the engineer will move his switch 14 back into contact with the signaling contact strip 15, so that he may be communicated with at any time. It will of course always be the operators duty when through communicating with the engineer to remove the necessary plugs, so as to prevent the unnecessary stopping of other trains.

In order to render the signal doubly noticeable to the engineer, we secure to one end of the arm 0 a preferably red-colored disk 17, which shows through opening 18 in the side of the casing 19, which incloses the whistleoperating parts. We of course may dispense with these parts without interfering with the operation of our invention.

We do not confine ourselves to any particular construction of telephone or annunciator or switchboard for use i n the station. Neither do We confine ourselves to any particular construction of combined signaling and telephone instrument and switch for use in the engineers cab, nor do we confine ourselves to any particular means for making contact between the locomotive and the main circuit or shunt-circuits.

By means of our invention we may dispense with the usual semaphore and by means of a separate circuit D signal the engineer, as before described.

What we claim as our invention is 1. In a system of the class described, the combination with a linewire; one or more branches connected therewith; fixed contacts connected with said branches; an annunciator; a switchboard, and a telephone, all connected in series, situated in the station and connected with said circuits, of the following elements situated in the engineers cab: a telephone; awhistle; electromagnets; armature therefor, means operated by said armature when the said electromagnets are energized, to admit steam to said whistle, a switch normal'ly closing the circuit to said electro magnets, one of its fixed contacts being connected with said electromagnets, and the other fixed contact of said switch being connected with said telephone, the said switch being operated to open the circuit with said electromagnets and close the circuit with said telephone in the cab after the engineer has been signaled by the blowing of said whistle, and a contact-arm, connected to said switch and adapted to engage with the said fixed contacts in order to complete the circuit, as described.

2. In a system of the class described, the combination with a line-wire; one or more branches connected therewith and situatedabove the road-bed, on suitable poles; fixed contacts connected with said branches and supported on said poles; an annunciator; a switchboard, and a telephone, all connected in series, situated in the station and connected with said circuits, of the following elements situated in the engineers cab: a telephone; awhistle; electromagnets; armature therefor, means operated by said armature when the said electromaguets are energized, to admit steam to said Whistle, a switch normally closing the. circuit to said electromagnets, one of its fixed contacts being connected with said electromagnets, and the other fixed contact of said switch being connected with said telephone, the said switch being operated to open the circuit with said electromagnets and close the circuit with said telephone in the cab after the engineer has been signaled by the blowing of said whistle, and a contactarm I, secured to the side of the cab, and connected with said switch and adapted to engage with said fixed contacts in order to complete the circuit, as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN ALEXANDER WHITE. GORDON CAMERON EDWARDS. Witnesses:

EGERTON R. CASE, W. H. SMITH. 

